The present invention relates to clamps, and more particularly to a clamp for use with a cross bar of a vehicle article carrier to provide a means for article carrier accessories such as bicycle racks to be secured to a cross bar of an existing vehicle article carrier.
Vehicle article carriers are used in a wide variety of applications to allow luggage and other articles to be transported above an outer body surface of a vehicle. Typically, such vehicle article carriers include a pair of slats or support rails disposed parallel to one another along a major longitudinal axis of the vehicle. One or more cross bars may be fixedly or movably supported on the side rails or slats. Articles can be secured directly to the cross bars via bunge cords, straps or other like components.
When using specific accessory attachments such as a bicycle supporting rack, however, it is not always easy to secure the accessory component to the cross bar (or cross bars) without requiring some disassembly of the existing vehicle article carrier or the use of complex and costly attachment hardware. It would therefore be highly desirable to provide some form of clamp assembly which can be used to easily secure a variety of accessory attachments to a cross bar of an existing vehicle article carrier without requiring disassembly of any component of the vehicle article carrier. It would further be highly desirable to provide such a clamp that can be quickly and easily removed from the cross bar when it is not needed. Still further, it would be highly desirable to provide such a clamp that does not significantly detract from the aesthetic appeal of the existing vehicle article carrier.
The present invention relates to a clamp which is specifically adapted to engage a cross bar of an existing vehicle article carrier to allow accessory article carrier components or attachments to be secured to and supported on the cross bar. The clamp includes a base portion having a coupling portion and a hinge portion. A locking assembly is pivotally secured to the coupling portion. A clamp element having a first end and a second end is pivotally secured at the first end to the hinge portion of the base portion to form an aperture between the base portion and the clamp portion. The aperture may be of various different shapes and sizes. In one preferred embodiment the aperture is oval shaped. In another preferred embodiment the aperture has a modified oval shape. In yet another preferred embodiment the aperture is circular.
When the clamp is to be attached to a cross bar, the locking assembly is pivoted away from the clamp element and the clamp element is pivoted into an open position to allow the base portion and the clamp element to be slid over the cross bar. The locking assembly is then rotated into a locked position where it engages with the second end of the clamp element. An over-center locking lever carried by the locking assembly is pivoted from an unlatched position into a latched position relative to the clamp element, thus clamping the base portion and clamp element over the cross bar.
The clamp element of the present invention includes an accessory attachment portion which in one preferred embodiment forms a C-shaped channel to which accessory article carrier components can be attached once the clamp is secured to the cross bar. Thus, other rails or tie-down elements can be secured to the clamp and thus supported from the existing cross bar to which the clamp is secured.
In the preferred embodiments the locking assembly includes a T-shaped stud having a threaded portion. The threaded portion is engaged with a threaded aperture of a barrel member which is disposed within the coupling portion of the base portion. The over-center locking lever is secured to a head portion of the T-shaped stud and can be rotated to cause the stud to threadably advance within the threaded aperture of the barrel member. This allows the over-center locking lever to pretighten the clamp element to the base portion prior to urging the over-center locking lever from its unlatched into its latched position.
In the preferred embodiments a resilient pad or other like element is secured to an inner surface of the base portion and has a length sufficient to extend along an interior surface of the clamp element. The resilient pad thus substantially circumscribes the cross bar when the clamp is secured to the cross bar.
Further areas of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description provided hereinafter. It should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not, intended to limit the scope of the invention.